WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says 700,000 jobs could be at risk next year if Congress doesn't quickly agree on how to pay for highway and transit programs.

Obama pinned the blame for the stalemate on congressional Republicans. He says he hasn't heard a good reason for why the GOP isn't acting, adding sarcastically that they're not busy doing anything else.

Nearly a dozen proposals to address the looming transportation problems have been floated in Congress, but lawmakers have been unable to settle on a solution that's politically acceptable to both parties. House Republicans recently proposed a short-term patch, but the plan died a quick death when it became clear that many GOP lawmakers wouldn't support it.

Obama was speaking Tuesday at Washington's Key Bridge, named after "Star-Spangled Banner" author Francis Scott Key.